Pekanbaru's Waste Solution: Mayor Says WTE Initiative by Riau Police Is Zero-APBD

Pekanbaru Mayor Agung Nugroho welcomed the Green Policing programme of the Riau Regional Police (Polda Riau) using waste-to-energy (WTE) technology to tackle the waste problem at Muara Fajar landfill. He said the project would impose no burden on the regional budget (APBD).

‘The city government feels greatly helped. This is truly zero APBD. In fact, the city will even gain from the land lease income from the landfill, and there will be a sharing of profits from the sale of electricity to PLN. This is an extraordinary collaboration,’ Nugroho said in a statement on Friday (6/3/2026).

Nugroho said the WTE project is being run under a business-to-business (B2B) scheme. The city will gain from land lease by PT ICE, the company that manages the waste.

‘Completely zero APBD, and the city will receive land rent, to be shared from the energy sales,’ he added.

Beyond the economic aspects, Nugroho believes the project can safeguard the environment. With the landfill area of about 4 hectares near capacity, this technology would allow waste to be significantly reduced.

‘Through the process of closing membranes and methane gas extraction, organic waste will be destroyed and reduced. In other words, the land previously full of rubbish can be repurposed for other uses in the future. The problem of this decade can finally be solved,’ he said.

The Pekanbaru City Government has signed an MoU with PT ICE, the private sector that will manage the waste. Currently, equipment such as pipes and membranes has arrived at Muara Fajar landfill and is being prepared.

‘We have an MoU with PT ICE for the land lease of the landfill and pipes; the membranes are installed, perhaps only about 30 per cent,’ he said.

The Mayor fully supports the idea of the Riau Police in realising the ASRI programme. He is optimistic that the collaboration with the Riau Police will become an important legacy in the history of environmental management in Pekanbaru.

‘In essence, we fully agree and strongly support. This is a forward step for Pekanbaru,’ he concluded.

Agung also expressed appreciation to the Riau Police Chief, Irjen Pol Herry Heryawan, for the initiative. Nugroho described the WTE project as a ‘product’ of the police chief’s thinking who greatly understands the threat of waste to the ecosystem.

‘The Police Chief always provides solutions and is very helpful. He understands environmental issues well, thus the WTE concept emerged. Waste that has piled up for years will be managed, methane gas extracted, and then processed into energy,’ he closed.

(mea/dhn)